Here I Am, the One That You Love
by take the mic. sing to me
Summary: Maybe the first HSM2 fanfic.  What would've happened to our favorite pairing if Gabriella hadn't returned and sung with Troy?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: I just finished watching _HSM2_ a few hours ago. And I asked myself the question... what if Gabriella didn't come back to sing the duet with Troy? What would have become of our most adorable pairing? This is my humble attempt at answering the question...

A little trivia—like _Now You're Here_, this title is also from a song—the line, "Here I am, the one that you love, asking for another day..." Lea Salonga sings it very well. And I happen to think it is very, very fitting.

**Disclaimer**: I don't claim to own any characters, actors, etc. Basically—I'm a fan. Don't sue me. Kaythanks. (:

* * *

The song was over. Troy felt stupid, drained, and heartbroken. Sharpay was as happy as ever—after all, they were "meant to sing together." During his performances, Troy had managed to maintain his composure and pretend that everything was fine—he had his friends back by pulling a few strings with Sharpay and getting them into the show. 

But his best friend was still gone.

No, not Chad. He was still somewhere, probably chatting it up with Taylor.

Troy reached into his pocket and pulled out the simple necklace with a single red T charm. "T as in Troy." It had been his promise. A promise that she ended up not wanting. Or not trusting him to be able to keep. Which was worse?

He sighed and leaned against his truck—the one he had spent probably days altogether working on with his dad. He had promised to take her to a movie sometime ago. He couldn't even remember.

_I promised._

Troy lifted his head towards the dark, starry night sky and could only think of one person he would rather be with than anyone else in the world... and she didn't want him anymore.

_The best thing that ever happened to you... that ever could happen to you. And you blew it, Bolton._

If only she had seen how much he had really changed—he was still the Troy she loved. Still the Troy that loved her more than he could ever possibly let her know. The Troy that made her feel like "a girl." The Troy that thought she was the most beautiful, amazing, talented, and intelligent girl he had ever known. The Troy that thought maybe... maybe he would be lucky enough to keep her long enough to maybe... maybe spend the rest of his life with her.

Troy closed his eyes in pain, reliving every moment that had passed between the two of them that past week. It was supposed to be a summer worth remembering. The first week of that summer had probably been the worst week of his life.

And, maybe he was crazy, but he didn't really think that climbing up the side of her house and singing to her was going to work this time. She'd been serious. She walked away. He ran after her. She still left.

Troy had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Chad came and sat next to him.

"Hey."

"Oh... hey." Troy didn't look at his friend. He just stared on into the never-ending parking lot, hoping that if he stared long enough, Gabriella might appear and tell him how she loved him and missed him.

"That show was... good. But you seemed a little out of it." Deciding not to beat around the bush anymore, Chad cut straight to the chase: "Have you talked to Gabriella lately?"

Troy half-snorted, half-sighed. "I don't know if she'd even want to talk to me."

Chad eyed Troy carefully. "You'll never find out if you never make that call."

"Look, I was a jerk. You wouldn't talk to me. Gabbi was dancing with Ryan, eating her mom's brownies. Sharpay wouldn't leave me alone... and all of you suffered for it. I was forgetting about her... blowing everyone important to me off for people who Sharpay probably paid to even talk to me. I missed dates... at least three in a row. I'm surprised she left me as late as she did."

"You love her. Don't even deny it. You've never said it. You've never so much as really even _kissed_ her. But you know it, and I know it, and everyone else does. Since Gabriella's the other party in this relationship..."

"... ex-relationship..."

"... then it's about time you clue her in." After some silence, he added, "Remember when we were kids, and all we could do was watch basketball, and we really sucked at playing?"

Troy nodded.

"Remember how you got so much better so much faster than I could even shoot decently, and I was so upset that I was just going to give up? Remember what you said?"

The ends of his lips curved slightly as Troy said, "If you really love something, you'll be willing to do whatever it takes... wait however long it takes."

"And I think I'd be right if I said that Gabriella is just a little more important to you than basketball."

"... thanks, man."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gabriella stood in the kitchen, doing the dinner dishes. She was currently scrubbing the brownie pan, and felt a twinge of pain at remembering how Troy used to love them, and how he snapped at Ryan when her new friend was telling him about how he loved them, too. With this, she looked out the small window in the general direction of Lava Springs. They were probably just cleaning up after the big Midsummer Night's Talent Show. Troy and Sharpay probably won. Maybe Sharpay had given him a "victory kiss." At that thought, she threw down the brownie pan then jumped at the sound. It seemed so unfair. Why did the girls who played dirty seem to always win their twisted little games?

Only this "game" wasn't little. And by forfeiting, she had lost the one person in the entire world who had ever really understood her. The person whose voice in her head lulled her to sleep at night. The person who had the best shoulder to cry on, and the best arms to be hugged with. The person who... wasn't that person anymore.

It didn't change anything, she knew. She loved him. She knew she did, and probably always would. Her eyes watered as she thought about how he, obviously, didn't think of her as highly.

Sure, he gave her that sweet necklace. He took her on a picnic and an against-the-rules after-work swim. Those two dates had gotten her two steps closer to being fired, but they were two of the best parts of her summer so far. Mostly because nothing improved beyond that point.

But once Sharpay offered him things Gabriella, nor anyone else, could... Troy began to drift away. Slowly but surely, he changed into an Italian-golf-shoe-wearing, friend-ignoring, date-forgetting... jerk.

A jerk that she still loved.

But it was obvious that Sharpay knew no limits when it came to Troy Bolton.

_If she wants him that badly,_ Gabriella thought, _she can have him. Until someone better comes along._

Sharpay didn't love Troy. Nobody did but Gabriella. It sounded weird and off, but it was true. Nobody had the ability to love Troy Bolton like Gabriella could. They had shared experiences that had allowed them to love each other with the purest love that anyone had seen in the longest time. And they hadn't even really _kissed_. Each attempt had been interrupted and foiled by their beloved Wildcat friends.

_Well,_ she put the last of the dishes back on the rack to dry, _I guess I'll just never be kissed, then. _And that one time when she was five and a four-year-old boy unexpectedly gave her a big wet one on the mouth didn't count.

That was one of her deepest secrets. She had simply moved too many times in her life to make steady friends, much less boyfriends. But, from listening, Gabriella learned that not being kissed by the age of fifteen was considered a felony in East High. And, while she didn't plan on lying about it, she didn't feel like advertising the fact, either. But she knew that when she did get her (late) first kiss, she wanted it to be from Troy. And maybe she'd get lucky, and she'd be _his_ first real kiss, too. Although, knowing Troy's social status, that was unlikely—but a girl could dream.

_What are you doing? Daydreaming about kissing your ex-boyfriend... who _you_ dumped? I think not..._

_... but I really wish we were still friends, at least..._

Gabriella was interrupted by her cell phone blasting _You Are the Music In Me. _His voice alone sent shivers of excitement up and down her spine. Not bothering to check the caller ID, she answered. "Hello?"

"Hi... Gabriella? Can I... talk to you?"

It was _him_.

"I... don't know." _Stop lying, you idiot. Of course you can. You miss him. You want him back. You _love_ him... no! He's changed. He isn't the same person you fell for. You can't. You won't..._

"Please? I know I don't deserve any of your time... but I have a lot of things I need to say."

"Okay... you know what? My mom's not home right now. You could come over... I have brownies." She couldn't help but remember how he'd come over after school all the time to do homework together... even though she was in all advanced classes and he was only in some, they managed to make sure that their "homework" took as long as possible. Mrs. Montez always made brownies.

"Great. I'll be there in... fifteen minutes."

And, even though she didn't want him back, she found herself rushing to do her hair, primp, and try on multiple outfits that she was positive he had never seen before. Not that she was still worried about looking good for him or anything like that.

* * *

**A/N:** I might be a little slow in updating, since sometimes doesn't let me upload .odt files (I'm using Open Office), even though it says it should. 


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I'm not sure if this is an Intro, Pt. 2, or a really short chapter, or a filler. I've decided that I'll go back and name the chapters later. I think you'll hate it; but I had to do it.

* * *

"... so I just wanted to let you know that I'm really, unbelievably, incredibly sorry." Troy looked up at Gabriella, his hands clasped together. He could feel the red _T _charm of her necklace poking his thigh through his front jean pocket, and his heart ached even more. It didn't help when he saw that her eyes were tearing slightly, and that he couldn't really read her expression. He used to be able to tell what she was thinking. Maybe he didn't know her very well anymore. Or maybe he had just neglected to pay attention.

"I... I want to forgive you," Gabriella finally said, after a pause that seemed to last forever. "But I need to know something first."

Troy jumped at the chance for redemption. "Okay. Sure. Anything. Just ask."

"Okay..." she took a deep breath before blurting out, "I can't help but notice that every time things are at their best between us... Sharpay seems to feel that she has to... to mess it up. And you've known her longer than I have. Why?"

Troy's face fell. That was not the question he had been expecting. "Um... do you really want to know?"

"That's... why I asked." Now Gabriella looked worried, and she was very right in being so.

"We... we used to go out." Troy winced at the memory. They had been immature freshmen, and she was a perky little blonde who was very much into drama. And competition. Namely competition in drama.

"_Troy, I know that you're going to be at my show this weekend," Sharpay giggled, tossing her pink-sequined purse over her shoulder and flipping her hair simultaneously._

"_Er... actually," Troy reached up to rub the back of his neck, "I have a family reunion... barbecue this weekend."_

"_But you _promised_!" Sharpay pouted, sticking out her lower lip and stomping her foot._

"_I know, and I'm sorry! But that was before I checked with my mom and realized that we have plans."_

"Plans_?! Troy. I am your _girlfriend_. I am your only plan."_

_Troy was growing more irritated by the second. They hadn't even really gone out yet since neither of them could drive. They hadn't even kissed yet, and barely even held hands because Sharpay was constantly getting new manicures. They had just told each other their feelings about three days ago—and right then, his were quickly fading. "I have a _life_ outside our relationship, Sharpay."_

_Sharpay gasped, looking and feeling very insulted. "Well, if you're not willing to make time to spend with me, then we shouldn't date at all!" She walked away, her little heels clacking against the tiled floors of the East Middle School hallway._

_Troy couldn't help but feel a little relieved. "We never dated! And I see you every day!" he called after her, not being able to resist getting the last words in._

Troy finished telling the story. All this time, he'd been staring at the granite counter-top on the island as if it was the most interesting thing he had ever seen. But he knew he had to look up sometime, so he closed his eyes and lifted his head, opening them to look at a very unhappy Gabriella.

She gulped a little, as if to swallow the tears that threatened to come up. "So you didn't think I'd want to know this?"

"I... didn't think it was important."

"If I hadn't asked, you wouldn't have told me, then."

"I would've probably told you eventually... maybe."

"You didn't think it was important?" With an air of disgust, Gabriella dropped her brownie onto a paper plate. "Troy. That girl hates me. Can't you tell that she regrets the decision she made? All this time, I didn't have any idea why she hated me so much. Maybe it was the winter musical, but... now I know why. And I don't really understand _why_ you'd hide things from me." She turned around on her stool, crossing her arms across her chest as if suddenly cold. "You were more than my boyfriend. You were my best friend. And remember when we talked about how we wouldn't have secrets from each other?"

Troy didn't even get to catch everything she said, because one word stuck. "_Were_?" He got up and stood in front of her, bending down so that their heads were level. "Past tense, Gabriella?"

"Troy, breaking up with you the first time was hard enough; please don't make me have to do it again." This time, tears could be heard choking her voice. She held her head in her hands, soon shaking with sobs. At the loss of trust. At the loss of a friend. At the loss of the best (and only) real relationship she'd ever been in. At the loss of Troy.

Troy stood up straight, stuck his hands in his pockets, and nodded slowly. "So this is it, then. You're just going to... throw away what we had? What we could've had? What we have right now? Just because I forget to tell you everything about my life?"

Gabriella looked up at him angrily. "This isn't my fault. She would go out of her way to hurt me. Everybody noticed. And... and you seemed _fine_ with it. Maybe it's because... maybe it's because you still have feelings for her, too." Even the thought of Sharpay with Troy made her sick, and she started crying even harder.

"Gabriella, I never knew it was that bad." Troy felt terrible. He laid his hand on her shoulder and rubbed her back soothingly, until her cries stopped.

"I wish we could stay friends," she said.

And two hearts shattered.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Sorry about how short these chapters are being; it's just that I like to leave them hanging and not to have too many climaxes in one. xD

* * *

The rest of the summer passed quietly and uneventfully. Troy apologized to the Wildcats, and they accepted. And, since most of them really needed the money they were earning, and it wasn't like Sharpay was feeling threatened by Gabriella anymore, they all stayed until school resumed in the fall. Everything seemed quiet, and, while nobody complained, it was obvious that nobody was enjoying himself. Not even Ryan, who wasn't even working. Sharpay would never admit it, but she, too found herself constantly searching for new, exciting, different _distractions_—from the fact that she was the reason nobody felt like singing or dancing anymore.

As for Gabriella, she didn't see any of her classmates the rest of the summer. She was busy tutoring students who were having trouble with summer school. She walked from elementary school to middle school to high school three times a week. The pay was good, and she found herself having more endurance for walking long distances before long. Still, she found her mind wandering to her friends and wondering how wonderfully their summer was going.

A summer to remember, indeed.

As everyone was looking for new distractions, school provided to be the key source of them. The memory of how Troy and Gabriella shook things up for the 2006 winter musical was now slowly fading, but it wouldn't be entirely forgotten.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Taylor pulled Gabriella aside after their second block. "Have you seen the bulletin board?"

Gabriella nodded slowly, not sure where this was going. She could never really tell with Taylor, unless it was some frustratingly romantic innuendo concerning her (now non-existent) relationship with Troy.

"Okay, you obviously don't get it—or you're pretending you don't. Either way... I signed you up for the winter musical auditions." Taylor grinned.

"You did _what_?" Gabriella couldn't help but feel a little angry now. She raised both of her eyebrows and unconsciously advanced towards her friend. "I am so _sick_. Of everyone just... thinking that this summer never happened. Taylor... this summer was supposed to be the best one of my life! I had friends; I had..."

"... Troy?" Taylor finished the sentence when Gabriella seemed unable to continue. "Gab, you should see how miserable he is without you. And Lava Springs just wasn't the same. Even Sharpay hardly had anything to say. To anyone. And... to tell you the truth, this is our senior year. This is supposed to be the best year of our lives."

"Yeah, well, I had that expectation for this past summer, and that worked out _beautifully_, now, didn't it?" Gabriella opened her locker and put her books away. Lunch was next. "Where's the sign-up sheet? I have... _corrections_ to make." She purposefully made her way towards the bulletin board, Taylor at her heels, begging her to change her mind, how it would fix everything, and maybe they could still save the rest of the school year, if only she wouldn't cross her name off the list!

But Gabriella didn't hear the rest of the words coming from Taylor's mouth.

It seemed as if time slowed down, and every agonizing second lasted as long as humanly possible.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sharpay Evans was at it again, using a fat pink Sharpie to sign her name in graffiti that covered about two-thirds of the entire page. Gabriella's mind traveled back to last year, when she had her first encounter with the Ice Princess, as Chad called her. Ice Princess. Mountain Lion. Yes, Chad had many loving pet names for East High's drama queen.

Sharpay really hadn't changed all that much since she'd first met Gabriella. The same smug look was on her face when she saw that someone had already signed up. "For being so smart, this Einsteinette never seems to learn her lesson," she said to herself. "Maybe she can dance with you," she said, referring to Ryan, who had unwillingly be converted back into her humble crony after the Wildcats lost all the dance in their steps.

"Who are you going to dance with?" he asked, a little scared of the answer.

"Do we need to go over this whole 'prima boy, prima girl' thing _again_, Ryan?" Sharpay loudly snapped the cap back onto her Sharpie. "Really, everyone here is such a slow learner. I think they'd realize by now that I really _do_ get everything I want."

"But... Troy still doesn't like you," Ryan said softly, but not softly enough.

"Not yet. But he'll come around. Especially once he lands the lead role, with me as... the other lead role."

"But... I've been doing this my whole life. What makes you think he'll beat me out?" Ryan was more than a little insulted.

"If you're such a good actor, then you should be able to act like you're not as good an actor as you really are. _Duh_." Sharpay walked away, flipping her highlighted-blonde, poofy hair into her twin's face.

"... wait. What?" Ryan called after her.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gabriella was speechless. Taylor, standing next to her, looked appalled and disgusted at "the nerve of some people."

"I... don't have corrections to make anymore."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I had a lot of options on how to write this chapter... then finally decided on this one. Thanks for all the encouragement—Reviews, Story Alerts, Author Alerts, Favorites, etc. :D I've been writing a lot of filler lately, just because I don't want to cram too much into one chapter. (:

* * *

Gabriella shook her head. She couldn't believe it. She really didn't like thinking the worst about people, but she was having some pretty unkind thoughts about Sharpay right then. Maybe Sharpay was right. Maybe Gabriella couldn't "stand the fact that I won." And, while these trivial high school mind games were, yes, stupid—Gabriella decided, while watching Sharpay play with the ends of Troy's brown hair, that this game was not one she was willing to lose without a fight. 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Chad looked at his best friend, _pfft_ing in distaste at Sharpay's flirty tactics.

"She really isn't so bad," Zeke insisted, nearly fainting when she snatched up one of his crème brulees.

"Yeah, if you wanna use her to make your ex-girlfriend jealous," Chad slipped, then looked at Troy apologetically.

"It isn't like that," Troy insisted. "I'm not that kinda guy... anymore," he added more softly.

"We know," Chad reassured. "But..." he looked across the room at East High's resident braniac, "she doesn't."

Troy sighed, turning his head to look at Gabriella, then quickly turned away when she returned his glance.

"We're back to square one," Zeke laughed a little. "It took you two the longest time to go out in the first place."

"This _isn't_ a game, Zeke," Troy said irritably. "And, with your taste in girls, I wouldn't really listen to anything you said about Gabriella, anyway." He got up, having lost his appetite, and headed for the rooftop garden.

He passed by the bulletin board and couldn't help noticing Sharpay's pink signature popping against the other, plainer fliers. Troy leaned towards it, wondering if the Evans had any new competition to shake things up for this year. At the bottom, in clean, down-to-business block letters, was _Gabriella Montez._ Good ol' Taylor. Troy fumbled for a pen and found one in his pocket, quickly signing his name as neatly as he could. Maybe there was still a chance...?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gabriella ended up not being very hungry, either. She mainly picked up and placed down her food, or poked at it with her fork. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and apologetically left Taylor, Kelsi, and Martha for... who-knows-where.

She spotted Troy near the bulletin board. It was all she could do not to break out into a weird grin. No matter how much she denied it, she knew that she really missed him. As a person. As a friend. As a best friend. As a boyfriend. She stared at him a little longer than most people would, then looked away, thankful he hadn't seen her. But she wasn't that lucky.

"Gabriella?"

She turned around sheepishly, almost like she'd been caught doing something wrong. "Hey, Troy."

Troy smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. "I haven't seen you since... a long time," he laughed nervously at the end. "Missed having you around."

"Yeah, well... I've been busy." _Liar._

Troy looked a little hurt. "Oh. Yeah, me, too. Just that... I saw your name on the..."

"I don't think that Shar—_the Evans_ should have everything handed to them on a silver platter," Gabriella interrupted. "And Taylor signed me up... and I don't want to be a quitter anymore." She had to restrain herself from ranting about what a terrible person Sharpay was, and how she'd taken away taken away the happiest days of Gabriella's life... _a summer I'll never get back._

"... oh." Troy rubbed the back of his neck, his face contorted in a sad, disappointed look. "I understand perfectly." Even though he really didn't. "I noticed your name was under the list for the pairs audition..."

_Crud._ "Oh... I... didn't." Gabriella wanted to kick herself. Why was she making this so difficult? She'd already agreed with herself that she did want Troy back. _But you turned him down twice; he'd never want you back after that kind of humiliation._

"And, well. Since we have a good history of... um, working well together, I was wondering if you'd be willing to... give the pairs audition a shot with me again. I've talked to Kelsi, and she already has some stuff for us to practice. She's actually free after our third block..."

"I... guess..."

Troy looked like he was about to burst with happiness. "Thank you _so_ much, Gabriella, you won't regret this!" He realized he was holding her hand, then dropped it sheepishly. "I mean... we'll practice hard. Together. Later. In the day." He ran off.


End file.
